Yum Brands acquired Tictuk Technologies, a Coinbase User List marketing technology and omnichannel solutions company that specializes in conversational commerce, according to a news release. Financial terms of the all-cash Coinbase User List transaction, which has already been completed, were not disclosed. Founded in 2016, Tel Aviv-based Tictuk develops integrations for social media and messaging channels, including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, SMS and email, that allow consumers to interact with brands and take actions like placing an order.
Yum already uses Tictuk in roughly Coinbase User List 900 KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut locations outside of the U.S., but the restaurant group now plans to scale the offering globally. The acquisition is Yum’s second this month in the Coinbase User List technology space. The marketer is trying to accelerate a digital transformation strategy that has grown more urgent as consumer habits driven by the pandemic are expected to become permanent. Dive Insight: Yum is ramping up its technology investments to keep pace with the demands of a rapidly changing restaurant industry. The pandemic has pushed more consumers to adopt digital and mobile ordering while dine-locations remain closed or operating in a limited capacity. Yum has felt a windfall from these trends and clearly expects some of them to stick.
Digital sales across its portfolio reached a record $17 billion in 2020, a roughly 45% year-on-year increase. But the broader shift to Coinbase User List digital brings operational and customer experience considerations that may be costly and time-intensive to realize internally. Acquisitions are one way for Yum to access the expertise needed to tap into burgeoning spaces like conversational commerce, which it has already dipped its toes into through an existing partnership with Tictuk. Social media engagement at the same time has spiked among homebound consumers who could be more receptive to placing an order through platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp or even text message.